RI’s Wolf School is Moving to a Higher Level

The Wolf School plays a unique role in educational options in Rhode Island -- and on Thursday April 24, the school celebrates its 15th Anniversary, its biggest fundraiser of the year, and a new Head of School.

On Thursday, The Wolf School is holding its twelfth annual "Discover the Difference" fundraiser from 6:30-9:00 pm. This event is a standout occasion with over 200 people attending in support of programs and financial aid for students at The Wolf School. Discover the Difference includes a silent and live auction with guest auctioneer John Taraborelli. The event will be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center Rotunda Room.

Founded in 1999, The Wolf School is a nationally recognized private special education school for complex learners in grades K-8. Its small class size, expert staff and unique Immersion Model provide a host of supports for students with multiple learning challenges.

The Wolf School is located in East Providence, and serves 50 children from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

New Head of School

Anna Johnson, who took over recently as the Head of School, previously served in an interim role since August 2013 when Jessica Robins Miller, founding Head of School, stepped down from her position of twelve years.

"Anna has been part of Wolf's growth since the onset, taking on greater professional responsibilities and challenges over time. I'm confident that I speak for the entire Wolf School community when I applaud Anna's dedication, expertise and leadership abilities. Our school is in sound, knowledgeable hands as we embark on the next steps in its evolution," said Board Chair, Scott DiChristofero.

Discover the Difference

Event chairs Kaitlyn Roberts of Easy Entertaining, Inc. and Stefania Mardo of The Discovery Group, Inc. lead the Discover the Difference event.

The silent auction includes a host of creative baskets for everyone from foodies to fishermen. In addition, the auction boasts a 2 night stay at Stowe Mountain Resort, tickets to the Dr. Oz Show in NYC, a behind the scenes tour of Hasbro Toy Company, a romantic Gondola ride for two, and Golden Circle tickets to Il Divo at PPAC. Live auction offerings include tickets to a Red Sox vs. Yankee game with a limo ride to Boston, a 2-hour charted excursion for 65 guests on the Schooner Aurora in Newport, Owners tickets to the Celtics, and more.

Tickets for Discover the Difference are $75 per person and are available by calling The Wolf School at 401-432-9940. Donations in excess of costs are tax deductible and a receipt will be sent for your records. For more information please call or email Marie Esposito, Director of Advancement (401-432-9940 x11 or mesposito@thewolfschool.org).

On Friday November 22, the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, the Latino Policy Institute of Roger Williams University, the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, the Providence Student Union, and RI-CAN: Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now will host Rhode Island leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors for a symposium on "the civil rights issue of the 21st century, adequacy and equity and the State of Education in Rhode Island."

Weighing in on the the "three biggest factors" facing education in the state today are symposium participatnts Gary Sasse, Founding Director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Leadership; Christine Lopes Metcalfe, Executive Director of RI-CAN; Anna Cano-Morales, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, Central Falls Public Schools and Director, Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University; Tim Duffy, Executive Director, RI Association of School Committees; and Deborah Cylke, Superintendent of Pawtucket Public Schools.

Sasse

"Provide a state constitutional guarantee that all children will have access to an education that will prepare them to meet high performance standards and be successful adults.

Bridge the gap between the educational achievement of majority and minority students. This will require the implementation of a comprehensive agenda for quality education in Rhode Island’s inner cities."

Sasse

"Revisit school governance and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the state, school districts , neighborhood schools, and school teachers and school administrators. Develop and implement a system to hold schools responsible for student outcomes."

Sasse

Metcalfe

"Set high expectations and raise our standards across the state for anyone that contributes to the success of our students. From adopting the Common Core to discussing rigorous teacher evaluations, conversations around creating a culture of high expectations have to be at the center of the work."

Metcalfe

Metcalfe

"School facilities - with an aging infrastructure, underutilized buildings and the need to provide fair funding for school facilities for all public school students regardless of the public school they attend, this needs to be a top issue tackled by the RI General Assembly in 2014."

Cano-Morales

Cano-Morales

"Increase the access to -- and completion of -- higher education and post- secondary opportunities. Poverty? Struggling families? Education and access to careers and competitive wages is the best antidote."

Duffy

"Providing adequate funding is critical -- and there are going to be pressures on the state budget, which mean stresses to meet the education funding formula. With the predictions of the state's projected loss of revenue with the casinos in MA, education funding could be on the cutting board, and we need to ensure that it's not. Do we need to look at strengthening the language of the constitution to guarantee funding?"

Duffy

Duffy

"Accountability and assessing student performance -- how that it's driven by the common core, we'll be able to compare the best districts in RI against the best districts in say MA. That's the intent of the Common Core is a standardization of how we hold the system accountable."

Cylke

"Issue one is quality. Your quality of education should not be dependent on your zip code. And the reality is, certain cities are distressed, or whose property values are not as high, I know each town has a different capacity to fund education. There's an absolute, clear relationship between the quality of public schools, and economic development of states. There's irrefutable evidence that quality public schools can make states more competitive."

Cylke

"Issue two is equality. In West Warwick and Providence, the per pupil spending is around $16K. In Pawtucket it's $12.9. What's wrong with that picture? If I'm in charge of overseeing that my students are college ready, they need to be adequate funding. A difference of $3000 per pupil? We're talking in the tens of millions of dollars -- more like $25 million in this case. An exemplary school district is Montgomery County, MD -- they have roughly the same number of students, around 145,000 -- there's one funding figure per pupil. There's equitable funding for all kids."

Cylke

"Issue three is Infrastructure. A critical issue is whether the state is going to lift its moratorium in 2014 for renovations for older schools, ore new construction. If that moratorium is not lifted, and those funds are not available, it is critical to us here in Pawtucket. The average of my schools is 66 years, I've got 3 that celebrate 100 years this year. These old schools have good bones, but they need to be maintained. These are assets -- and this is all interrelated with the funding formula."